Machine for gluing blanks.



No. 726,473. PATENTED APR. 28, 1903.

P. S. SMITH.

MACHINE FOR GLUING BLANKS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 22, 1902.

no MODEL 3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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i I i g g i x E 1 l\ a H i i l l| i j i j l I i No. 726,473. PATENTEDAPR. 28, 1903. P. S. SMITH.

MACHINE FOR GLUING BLANKS.

APPLICATION FILED D50. 22, 1902.

no MODEL. s SHEETS-SHEET 2.

niiiiiliiiiiiiiiiil PATENTED 18311.28, 1903 P. S. SMITH. MACHINE FORGLUING BLANKS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 22, 1902.

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PHILIP S. SMITH, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OFTHREE-FOURTHS TO J. STOGDELL STOKES, OF MOORESTOWVN, NEWV JERSEY, HARRYB. SMITH, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, AND WIN- FIELD SCOTT SMITH, OFPAIVTUOKET, RHODE ISLAND.

MACHINE FOR GLUlNG BLANKS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 7 26,473, dated April28, 1903.

Application filed December 22, 1902. Serial No. 136,179. (No model- ToaZZ whom it may concern;

Be it known. that I, PHILIP S. SMITH, a citi-. zen of the United States,residing at Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, have inventednew and useful Improvements in Machines for Gluing Blanks, of whichthefollowing is a specification.

In manufacturing paper boxes having an applied covering generally asheet of relatively thin paper) the practice in general use is to formthe box and then apply a blank formed of a sheet of thin paper to thesurface of the formed box, one surface of the blank being coated withglue before application to the box. In order that the covered box shouldbe smooth and free from blisters, 00., it is essential that the entiresurface of the blank receive the glue coating and that the coating beapplied evenly. Owing to the fact that great difficulty is had in socoating the surface of the blank with the glue, due to several causes,among which is the fact that the material of the blank is of such anature that the application of the glue tends to soften the paper, andthe further fact that the application of the glue causes the blank tocurl, &c., especially when the application is. by bringing the surfaceinto contact with a glue-carrying roller, the application of glue to thesurface of the blank is generally performed manually. The application ofglue to the surface of the blank manually is not only a slow and tediousoperation, but it has been found that the coating is unevenlydistributed. Hence it is not possible to form uniformly-coated blanks inthis manner. By providing a machine which will apply the coating of glueto the blank rapidly and uniformly throughout the entire surface of theblank a great saving of time and expense in t the manufacture of the boxWill be had, thereby decreasing the relative cost of the completed box.

This invention therefore relates to improvements in machines forapplying a coating of glue to the entire, surface of one face of ablank, and has for its object to provide a construction in which amoving blank is brought into contact successively with a pair ofglue-applying rollers, each of which applies the coating to a portion ofthe surface, the blank being held from curling, &c., during its passagefrom one roller to the other.

A further object is to provide a structure of the character describedwhich willapply a coating of glue throughout one face of a blank withrapidity and uniformity.

A further object is to provide a machine of this character which issimple and efficient in operation, durable in construction, and whichcan be made at a moderate cost.

To these and other ends said invention consists, generally and brieflystated, in the provision of a machine of the character specifiedcomprising means for successively striping a moving blank with thecoating material during its movement in one direction, the totality ofstripes covering the entire surface of the blank; further, amachine ofthe character specified comprising means for successively applyingspaced stripes of the coating material toa moving blank during themovement of the blank in one direction, the totality of stripes coveringthe entire surface; further, a machine of the character specifiedcomprising two members each provided with spaced material-applyingfaces, said members beingpositioned relative to each othertosuccesslvely stripe a moving blank with the coating material duringthe movement of the blank in one direction, the totality of stripescovering the entire surface; further, in a gluing-machine, a pair ofrollers having spaced glue-applying faces, the faces of one roller beingout of line with the faces of the other roller.

It further consists in the improved construction and combination ofparts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which similarnumerals of reference indicate similar partsin all of the figures, and particularly pointed out in the appendedclaims.

In the drawings, Figure l is an end elevation of the machine lookingtoward the right in Fig. 2, the feed-table being omitted. Fig.

2 is a central vertical longitudinal sectional view of the machine. Fig.3 is a plan view showing the pair of glue-applying rollers and thesupporting strips or fingers for the blank. Fig. 4 is a View showing thearrangement of gearing at one side of the machine. Fig. 5 is a similarview showing the gearing at the opposite side of the machine. Fig. 6 isa detail view of one of the feed-roller bearings. Fig. 7 is a detailview showing one of the slidable bearings for a glue-applying roller.

In the accompanying drawings the reference-numeral 5 designates aglue-tank of any preferred construction, supported in suitable manner,such as by legs 6. The tank and its contents are kept heated in anysuitable manner-such, for instance, as by a steam-space 7 below thetank, having inlet and outlet openings 8 and 9, as shown. Mounted on thesides of the tank 5 are two standards 10 10, which carrysubstantiallyall of the operating parts of the machine.

11 designates an intermediate roll, preferably rubber-faced, as shown inFig. 2, mounted in the standards 10, each end of the shaft of said rollprojecting beyond the standards, said ends each carrying gear-wheels,(designated as 12 and 13,) the gear 12 having an operative contact withthe drive gear 14 and the gear-wheel 13 being operatively engaged with agear 15 on the shaft of the feedroll, as hereinafter described. Thedriveshaft 16, carrying the drive-gear 14, extends from one of thestandards 10 and is provided on one face with a clutch mechanism 17, theother face of said mechanism being carried by a drive-pulley 18, looselymounted on said shaft, said clutch mechanism being operated by asuitable handle 19.

2O designates the glue-feeding roller, which isjournaledinbearings21.(Bestshownin Fig. 6.) As shown, said bearings each have at one end ahook-shaped portion 22, adapted to be placed over a pin 23, carried byeach standard, the opposite end of the bearing having an elongatedportion which normally rests on the upper end of an adjusting-screw 24,mounted in a projection 25, formed on the tank 5, the mounting beingsuch as to permit the roller extending into the glue in the tank. Thisconstruction permits the gluefeeding roller to be readily placed inposition or removed therefrom by moving the screw 24 downwardsufficiently to permit the hookshaped ends of the hearings to be placedon or taken from the pins 25 and then moving the screw 24 upwardly untilthe proper degree of contact is obtained between the roll 11 and roller20, this degree of contact being regulated by the movement vertically ofthe screw 24 in an obvious manner. The screw 24 is held in its adjustedposition in any suitable manner, such as by the set-screw 26.

As will be seen, the gears 13 and 15 differ in size, thereby causing theroller 20 to have a relatively slow movement, so that the surfacecontact of the roll 11 and roller 20 is not merely a rolling one, butwhat might be termed a rubbing action is produced, by means of which theglue is evenly spread over the surface of the roll 11.

On opposite edges each standard 10 is cut away, as at 27, to receive aslidable bearingblock 28, forming the journal for one end of theglue-applying rollers 29. The bearingblocks are normally pressed outwardaway from the roll 11 by means of springs 28, and contact between eachroller 29 and intermediate roll 11 is effected in an adjustable mannerby a set-screw 30, passing through a block 31, carried by the standard.

As shown, each roller 29 is formed with spaced or separatedglue-applying faces, each of which has its edges cut away or rounded offto a slight degree. In forming the roller 29 the whole may be formedintegrally, or, if desired, the same may be built up, the latter beingan obvious structure, and hence not shown specifically. The two rollers29, forming a pair, are located in horizontal alinement; but theglue-applying faces are out of alinement-that is to say, the faces ofone roller are opposite the spaces of the other rollerthe arrangementbeing such, however, that the opposing faces overlay to a slight degree,the relative widths of the faces and adjacent spaces permitting suchoverlapping. The shafts of the rollers 29 extend through thebearing-blocks 28 and carry gears 32 32 33 33, the former having anoperative connection with the gear 12, from which said rollers aredriven, and the gears 33 33 having an operative connection with thegears of the feed-rolls, hereinafter described. As each roller 29 hasits glue-applying faces in contact with the intermediate roll, it willbe obvious that the operation of the machine will cause said faces totake up the glue from said intermediate roll in an evenlydistributedform.

34 designates a removable supporting device for the blanks consisting oftwo rods 35, extending parallel with and outside of the rollers 29,being mounted on the blocks 31, and an intermediate rod 36, the latterbeing supported from the rods 35 by the supporting strips or fingers 37,the latter being of two forms, those shown on the left in Fig. 2extending to a point beyond the vertical plane of the rod 36 being bentbackward and secured in said rod, while those on the right lead from therod 36 to the rod 35 on the right. Those strips on the right in saidFig. 2 are on a slightly lower plane than the strips on the left inorder that no projecting portion may catch the blank as it passes fromone roller to the other. The strips 37 extend through the spaces formedbetween the glue-applying faces of the rollers 29, thereby permittingthe blank to receive the glue from the rollers 29 and without carryingthe blank but slightly out of the plane on which it is located when incontact with the glue-applying faces. .It will therefore be understoodthat any tendency of the blank to be carried around the roller 29 isimmediately stopped by the conaided in a substantial manner by theconstruction of the rollers 29 in that the blank when passing over thefirst roller is coated in strips only, blank spaces being formed betweenthe stripes, which spaces are coated by the second roller The upper endsof the standards 10 are provided with open-ended slots or bearings 40,within which are removably located the feedrolls 4:1 41, said rollsbeing in vertical alinement with the rollers 29, the shafts of saidrolls having gears 42, operatively engaged with the gears 33. Therecesses 40 are of a depth to permit the rolls 41 passing downward to apoint closely adjacent to the surface of the roller 29; but they preventactual contact being formed between said parts. The recesses, however,permit said rolls to be raised, (the gears connecting the rolls androllers 29 being formedto permit of a free movement of the feed-rollswithout disengagement.)

45 designates a table of suitable formation and supported in suitablemanner, such as by a removable connection with the stand ards andglue-tank, as shown. Preferably a support .8 for the blank extends fromthe table to the fingers 37.

In operating the machine the operator preferably uses a pile of blanks(ranging from ten to fifty, more or less, according to the thickness ofthe blank) with the faces to be coated placed downward, the blanks beingalined, and, if desired, placing a heavier piece of material on thetopof the pile. This pile or batch is first moved from the table ontothe projecting portions of the fingers 37 and onto the first roller 29,with the spaced faces of which the lowermost blank contacts. As thebatch is carried forward the first feed-roll adjusts its positionaccording to the thickness of the batch and a positive feed of the batchas an entirety is had. During the passage of the batch over the firstroller 29 the coating is applied in parallel stripes throughout thelength of the blank, (if fed in lengthwise,) leaving uncoated stripes.As the batch passes from the first roller 29 the striped blank of thebatch contacts with the strips or fingers 37, the continued feedingcausing the batch to pass along said fingers (which serve the purpose ofa table) until brought into contact with the second roller 29, Where thesame operation is bad, the glue-applying faces of this roller, however,acting on the surface which was uncoated, the overlapping of the facesof the two rolls insuring that the entire surface of the blank iscoated. In other words, the moving blank is successively striped Whilemoving in one direction, the totality of stripes covering the entiresurface.

After passing the second roller 29 the operator removes the bottom orcoated blank, and the batch is brought back on the table ready forpassage through the machine to coat the next blank.

It will be understood that the term blank as used herein includes anymaterial having a surface to be coated on one side and of apredetermined size.

The beveling or rounding off of the peripheral edges of theglue-applying rollers is very important, as by this construction theblank is not marked, out, or indented, which would otherwise likely bethe case and which would materially detract from the general appearanceof the finished box.

By referring to Fig. l of the drawings it will be seen that the roll 11is longer than the roller 20 and that the said roller 20 is like-- wiseslightly longer than the glue-applying rollers 29. This is important,since it was found in practice that a furrow or rib of glue would formon the roll 11 at the ends of the glue-feeding roller 20, which rib orfurrow of glue would be taken up by the glue-applying rollers 29, atleast to such an extent as give an overfeeding of glue to the blank, atthe edges thereof, which is not only undesirable, but veryobjectionable. I have overcome the above objection by so constructingthe relative lengths of the rolls that should the rib of glue form onthe roll 11 it will be so far removed from the ends of the glue-applyingrollers 29 as to be out of contact or alinement therewith. In thismannerlsecure a uniform distribution of glue over the entire blank.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim isl. A machine forcompletely coating one surface of a blank with adhesive comprising meansfor successively striping a moving blank with the coating material atone operation during its movement in one direction, the totality ofstripes covering the entire su rface.

2. A machine for completely coating one surface of a blank withadhesive, comprising means for successively applying at one operationspaced stripes of the coating material to a moving blank during themovement of the blank in one direction, the totality of stripes coveringthe entire surface.

3. A machine for completely coating one surface of a blank withadhesive, comprising means for successively applying at one operationparallel spaced stripes of the coating material to a moving blank duringthe movement of the blank in one direction, the totality of stripescovering the entire surface.

4. A machine for completely coating one surface of a blank withadhesive, comprising two members each provided with spacedmaterial-applying faces, said members being positioned relative to eachother to successively stripe a moving blank with the coating material atone operation during the movement of the blank in one direction, thetotality of stripes covering the entire surface.

5. A machine for completely coating one surface of a blank,'comprising apair of rollers parallel with each other and each provided with spacedmaterial-applying faces, said rollers being in horizontal alinement, andpositioned relative to each other to successively stripe a moving blankwith the coating material during the movement of the blank in onedirection, the totality of stripes covering the entire surface.

6. In a gluing-machine, a pair of rollers, each having spacedglue-applying faces, the faces of one roller being out of line with thefaces of the other roller.

7. Inagluing-machine,apairof rollers each having spaced glue-applyingfaces, the operating faces of one roller opposing the spaces of theother roller.

8. In a gluing-machine, a pair of glue-applying rollers, one constructedto apply glue over a portion of a sheet on one face thereof only and theother constructed to apply glue over the remaining portion of the sameside of the sheet between the portions not acted upon by the first-namedroller, and means for applying glue to the surfaces of said rollers.

9. A machine for completely coating one surface of a blank withadhesive, comprising means for applying spaced stripes of the adhesiveto a moving blank,and means arranged out of line with the first-namedmeans for applying additional stripes to the same side of the blank overthe portions not acted upon by said first named means, both of saidmeans acting to coat the entire surface of the blank at one operationduring its movemen in one direction.

10. In a gluing-machine, a plurality ofrollers each having spacedglue-applying faces, and separated supporting-strips for the blank to beglued arranged between and extending beyond the periphery of saidrollers.

11. In a gluing-machine, the combination with a glue-tank, of aglue-feeding roller mounted therein, a pair of glue-applyingrollersmounted in parallel alinement above and in surface contact with theglue-feeding roller, and each having spaced glue-applying faces, and afeed-roller arranged above and out of contact with each glue-applyingroller.

12. In a gluing-machine, a glue-tank, a glue-feeding roller mountedtherein, lue-applying rollers, and an intermediate roll having surfacecontactwith said glue-feeding and glue-applying rollers, said roll andgluefeeding roller having movements in the same direction, theperipheral surfaces thereof moving at different speeds, whereby arubbing action will be had at the line of contact of said roll androller.

13. In agluing-machine,glue-applying rollers having spaced glue-applyingfaces, the edges of said faces being cut away.

14. In a gluing-machine,glue-applying rollers having spacedglue-applying faces, the edges of said faces being rounded off.

15. In a gluing-machine, the combination with standards, of twoglue-applying rollers removably mounted therein in substantialhorizontal alinement, said rollers having spaced glue-applying faces,supporting-strips for the blank removably carried by said standards andextending between the spaces of said rollers, and means for feeding glueto said rollers.

16. In a gluing-machine, a glue-tank, a glue-feeding roller extendingtherein, a pair of glueapplying rollers, an intermediate rollbetweensaid glue-feeding and glue-applying rollers, said rollers beingadjustable relative to the surface of said roll, and means for feedingthe blank to said glue-applying rollers successively.

17. The combination with a glue-tank carrying adjusting-screws,andstandards mounted on said tank, each standard havinga pin; ofbearing-blocks having one end removably seated on said pins, theopposite ends of the blocks resting on said screws, whereby said blocksmay be adjusted pivotally; and a gluefeeding roller mounted in saidblocks.

-18. In a gluing-machine, the combination with a glue-tank, of aglue-roll mounted therein, a pair of glue-applying rollers mounted inparallel alinement and insurface contact with the glue-roll,and eachhaving spaced glue-applying faces, a feed-roller arranged above and outof contact with the glue-roll, and a glue-feeding roller in surfacecontact with said glue-roll, said roll being shorter in length than theglue-feeding roller and longer than the glue-applying rollers,substantially as and for the purpose specified.

19. In a gluing-machine, a glue-tank, a glue-feeding roller extendingtherein, a pair of glue-applying rollers, an intermediate roll betweensaid glue-feeding and glue-applying rollers, slidable spring-pressedbearings for said rollers and means for adjusting said bearings withtheir rollers relative to the surface of said roll.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

PHILIP S. SMITH. Witnesses:

WALTER F. HENRY, A. J. FLowERs.

